Pat Neshek, American baseball player
Patrick John Neshek (pronounced NEE-shehk; born September 4, 1980), is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies. The Twins selected him in the sixth round of the 2002 MLB draft, out of Butler University. Neshek made his MLB debut for the Twins in 2006, and played for them until 2010 (except for 2009, which he missed due to Tommy John surgery). He was selected to his first All-Star Game in 2014, and his second in 2017.
Probably best known for an unorthodox pitching delivery, Neshek's arm motion slots about sidearm, with an explosive release point, which developed after a baseball struck his forearm in high school. Right-handed batters have difficulty tracking the path of his pitches, resulting in a .193 batting average, .243 on-base percentage, and a .311 slugging percentage against Neshek, in 1,143 career plate appearances, through 2019.